@scottjenson RE google maps, I hear you. This particular problem could be solved by an app which remembers your speed, then displays the concentric rings. It assumes internet access/cached maps, GPS data and a device capable of displaying it — what if the device transmitting the information was a pedometer/similar which knows my speed but not location, has no internet access or way of displaying maps?

I’m a fan of more ambient approaches like this because they enhance my own senses (in this case my poor sense of timing) without trying to run my life, as apps seem to want to do. I see it as a fundamentally different approach; apps make me perform a task and give me output. Ambient information enhances my senses and gives me more context within which to make decisions.

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Scott Jenson:
Talking about “I'm looking links to non-goofy IoT scenarios” on @branch. Who has something to add? http://t.co/bSSQ5guXQD

@scottjenson here’s a little one I came up with recently: intelligent map billboards.

I’m walking through a city I’m not familiar with, going to a concert at 19:35. I headed out a little late but am confident I’ll get there in time.

I approach a map billboard. My phone and the billboard connect; either because I’ve given it permissions to connect to devices owned by the city council or just by default.

The billboard requests my average speed over the last 5 mins, and, as this is a piece of data I’m happy to share, my phone complies. The billboard updates it’s display with concentric rings centred around the “you are here”, showing where I can go in 5, 10, 15 minutes if I continue at my present speed. Possibly it would also show the time I would get there.

I see that the concert venue is just outside the 10 minutes ring; the ETA being 19:45. Damn, that’s 10 minutes late! I speed up my pace or get on a city bike and arrive at the concert in time.